


Blue in a Sea of Grey

by UnamedUntold



Series: Warmth of the Sun [1]
Category: Transformers Generation One
Genre: M/M, Past, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:40:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26354368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnamedUntold/pseuds/UnamedUntold
Summary: This Prowl's, Jazz's, and Bluestreak's past from before the war. From the moment Prowl learns he is carring Bluestreak, to his birth, to meeting and falling in love with Jazz, to when the war begins. This is Prowls past and how and why he is who he is.
Relationships: Jazz/Prowl, Prowl/OC
Series: Warmth of the Sun [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1915054
Comments: 8
Kudos: 34





	1. A choice of two lives

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry, the Prow/oc thing is only temporary. This story is about Prowl, Jazz, and Bluestreak, not someone of my creation.

Prowl sat on the medical berth as he waited for Ratchet to finish running his test. He already knew what the answer would be, he’s been through this before. The shifts in his frame and the pull at his spark. I was all familiar to him. Having Ratchet look at him was only a precaution just to make sure. Still, the pull at his spark was unmistakable to any experienced carrier.

As he waited his processor wandered back in time, before the war, when he sat with a different medic for the same reason.

*5.5 million years ago.*

Prowl laid nervously on the medical berth while the medic ran a scanner back and forth over his frame. Normally he would do his best to avoid going to any medic because of how expensive they always were. However he had noticed several changes to his frame and a near constant pulling at his spark for the last orbital cycle. With his track record this was of course a cause for concern. So he made an appointment with the nearby clinic.

He has been scanned and tested for the last ten cycles. He let out a sigh as his patience was beginning to wane. Just as he was about to complain because of how long it was taking the scanner made a series of beeps. This perked both Prowls and the medics interest. The medic pulled it up and read what was on the scanner. He made a humming sound in acknowledgement before turning to Prowl.

“Well, I figured out the problem.” He said as he gestured for him to sit up. “Congratulations, you’re carrying.”

“WHAT?!” Prowl shouted, his drawings shooting up to show his surprise. “But I’m not bonded!” He protested as his door wings fell back down to lie against his back.

“Despite what many think, you don’t need to be bonded to get sparked.” The medic began to explain to the Praxian. “There are three levels of spark merging. The first level, the most shallow, is mostly used for pleasure during interfacing. The second is used for sparking. There is a very fine line between the two, which is why many sparklings are created accidentally. The final one is where spark bonding occurs.”

“......Why aren't we taught this in school?!” Prowl asked, baffled by the fact that this knowledge wasn’t considered important enough to share with the students.

“Unfortunately education isn’t very well funded in this part of Praxis.” The medic commented as he filled out a few things on his data pad. “If I had a credit for every young bot that came in here wondering how they got sparked I could have retired half a million years ago.” Prowl hummed in acknowledgement as he stared off, thinking. “Now, according to this you are about four orbital cycles in. Most carrying terms last twelve. You can schedule another appointment in about an orbital cycle with the secretary. I also strongly recommend you read this datapad about the carrying process. You are free to go now.” The medic said walking out of the room.

Prowl nodded absentmindedly, not releasing that the medic had already left, and got off the berth. He picked up the datapad the medic left for him as he walked out. When he got to the receptionist he made the appointment the medic told him to. He was running on autopilot, so he almost didn’t remember to mark the date down on his internal calendar.

As he stepped out of the clinic it finally hit him. He fell back on the clinic wall as the other residents of the city walked past him without a care. He was 19 thousand years old carrying a sparkling. In a few short cycles he was going to be a carrier. He was going to be responsible for another life when he was barely responsible enough for himself. He lived in such a small apartment, he just barely kept a part time job as he saved up enough credits for his law enforcer officer schooling. How was he ever going to afford a sparkling?

What was Delirium, his current boyfriend, going to think? The party animal of a mech who never wanted a sparkling would surely take care of his own, wouldn’t he? Prowl loved Delirium and Delirium said he loved him back. Prowl believed he would take care of his sparkling and Prowl. They would be a family.

That was something Prowl always wanted. A big family of his own. He loved his adoptive family, but he’s always felt out of place amongst them. They never excluded him, but his adoptive siblings never seem to go out of their way to include him. It didn’t help that he had a different frame then them as well. Any time they were out they always got looks and asked if he was one of the younglings friends.

Now was his chance to get the family he wanted. He would have a sparkling with the mech he loved and maybe would even become bonded to him in a few stellar cycles. He would still go to the academy and become a law enforcer. Everything will work out fine. With that little fantasy in his mind and hope in his spark he set off back to his tiny apartment to wait for Delirium to get off of work.

While he waited for Delirium to get back from work he sat on the couch and read through the datapad he was given. To everyone who knew him he was a wild mech from the time he hit his teens. He was the one to go to for a good time and he always knew where all the best parties were being held. And he always got away from the law enforcers when they were called. He would escape every time.

What the others didn’t know about him was that he was actually extremely intelligent. He was a master at chess, pulled stellar grades throughout his schooling, and could predict most bots moves fifteen minutes before they moved just by the way they were talking or the layout of the area. Which is how he was never caught while at one of the many parties he loved to attend. He kept this hidden from the others because he didn’t want to be seen as a nerd and ruin his reputation on the streets.

Still, he was able to read through the data pad before Delirium returned. Prowl had finished cleaning up when he arrived back at the apartment. He came in, barely greeted Prowl before going into one of the cabinets for a cube of high grade. Before he could take a sip though, Prowl took it out of his servos and set it aside.

“What the frag, Prowl?” He asked, irritated.

“I have something very important to tell you, and I need you to have a clear processor.” Prowl started as he walked back over to the couch and sat down.

“What can possibly be so important that you have to tell me the second I get home.” He asked gruffly as he took a seat across from Prowl. His irritated attitude was normal for him, though it was usually worse after work.

Prowl ignored his irritation, well used to it by now. “So, remember how I was saying that something was up with my frame and spark?” 

“You better not have a disease!” Delirium said, voice raising in volume.

“Don’t yell!” Prowl snapped back. “And, no! It’s not a disease!”

“Well, what is it?”

“I’m carrying.” Prowl said, a small smile on his face as he got to share the news with the mech he loved, though his joy was short lived.

“WITH WHO?!” He yelled loudly as he stood up, startling Prowl and making him jump.

“What?” He asked confused and shocked.

“WHO’S IS IT?” He said screaming at Prowl. He took a step towards him, trying to be intimidating. “Is it Powerbite  
1? Quickdraw!? Overheap!? Or is it that mech that was eyeing you up at that bar!?”

“Excuse me?!?” Prowl growled, infuriated and hurt, as he stood up too. “Why the pit do you think I cheated on you?!? It’s yours! The sparkling is yours!”

“Everyone knows you can’t ever stick to one mech! Do you think I’ve forgotten your reputation in the time we’ve been together?” He said throwing Prowl’s past back at him.

“I may like to bounce from mech to mech, but I’ve never cheated on you!” Prowl snapped back at him as he seethed with rage at being accused of being unfaithful.

“Get rid of it!” He yelled at him, growling deep in his tone.

“What?” Prowl asked again, anger temporarily gone from his body. He hadn’t expected this conversion going this way. Delirium wasn’t supposed to react like this! This was all wrong!

“I said ‘get rid of it’!” He repeated. “Either you get rid of it or I’m leaving!”

“You’re just going to abandon us!?!” Prow asked, shocked at what he was hearing.

“I want absolutely nothing to do with that sparkling! I don’t want to be a sire! So either you get rid of it, or I’m leaving.” He said the last in a low growl, a warning that he will follow through with his threat.

Prowl stared at him, unable to form any words. This isn’t what he expected to happen. This isn’t what he wanted or for how this conversation to go. He didn’t expect for the mech he loved to pull an ultimatum like this on him. For him to choose between his boyfriend or unborn sparkling. And it was breaking his spark.

The logical part of his processor told him it was more logical to dissolve the sparkling. He would have an extremely hard time caring for this one on his own. He wouldn’t be able to go to the academy to become an officer. He could have more sparkling later when he was older and was bonded. It would be better for everyone, the unborn sparkling in question as well.

But his spark didn’t agree. He could have more later, but they wouldn’t be this one. He will have a difficult time caring for them, but he was strong, he could do it. He may not become an officer, but he could still become a low level law enforcer.

His processor told him to give it up. His spark said to keep it. He already made up his mind.

With a glare that would put fear into even the bravest sparks, Prowl hissed out two words dripping with venom and unspoken threats. “Get. Out.”

“What?” It was Delirium's turn to be confused. He hadn’t expected Prowl to choose a sparkling he’s barely known about for a few megacycles over him, whom he had known for several hundred stellar cycles.

“I said get out! I’m choosing to keep my sparkling and I will never give him up!” Prowl shouted as he raised his door wings to form a tight V shape around his help, a sign of dominance. “Either step up and be sire to your sparkling or leave!”

“Fine!” He hissed as he gathered his stuff. “Have fun trying to raise that brat by yourself. And good luck ever trying to find someone else! You know no one wants damaged goods and baggage.”

“Leave!” Prowl shouted as he pointed to the door.

“I’m never coming back!” He shouted back as he started to leave. He stopped for a moment and turned back to Prowl. “Whore!”

The vase Prowl threw at him smashed into the door just as it closed. He stood in the middle of the living room, shaking with rage and hurt. He stood there for a minute before collapsing back on the couch. The second he sat down coolant pooled in his optics. It ran down his face as sobs of frustration, pain, hurt, and dread started to wrack his frame.

It occurred to him just then that he was truly alone in this situation. Neither his friends nor his family will help him. The moment he let them know his plans to become a law enforcement officer they took that as a betrayal of the place where he grew up. He was raised to hate law enforcement officers, but he never did. He understood why they did what they did, and secretly he agreed with them and the law. Laws were supposed to keep bots safe.

His friends and family, however, did not agree. So he was shunned by them. Only Delirium stuck by his side, though he too frequently expressed his displeasure of Prowls career choice. Prowl, however, knew that in their part of Praxis there were only five job choices. One; a dead end job. Two; gang member/boss. Three; a pimp. Four; a pleasure bot. Or five; a law enforcement officer.

None of the other choices suited Prowl and his goals for the future. So he went with the only one that could give him the life he wanted. No matter how unpopular it made him in his adoptive family. It was the one he was going to stick too.

Still, he realised he was alone with this. He alone would raise his sparkling. When they got sick, he would have to be the one to care for them. He alone will have to pay for all the bills that will come. This sparkling’s future will be on him and him alone. He made his choice and he was going to stick with it, no matter how hard it was going to be.

He rested one servo over his spark where the tiny spark of his sparkling was growing and the other over his gestation chamber where the frame of his sparkling was growing. He could very faintly feel the presents of them. Their em field was faint, but was there nonetheless.

“It’s okay my love.” He whispered to the empty room. “Carrier is right here. Things are going to be tough and hard, but we’ll be fine, okay? I have a promise I want to make to you.” He said looking down with a smile. “I will be the strongest that you ever knew. I will be there when you need a love strong enough for two. I will carry both shares for you, no matter how bad the storm gets. I will always love you and put you first. Even if I have to always do it alone. I love you, my little sparkling.”


	2. All For Them

Prowl sat up tiredly on the berth as the alarm for him to wake up when off. A look of annoyance covered his face as he turned off the obnoxious alarm. He laid there in his berth for a few nano clicks, thinking about everything. He stared up at that ceiling, not moving. In his chassis his sparkling was sending out clam pulses as they too woke up.

Ever since Delirium left Prowl had to switch from a part time to full time job just to pay the rent. He even had to pick up a second part time job waiting tables at a bar to pay for everything else. However, even with both jobs Prow was still struggling to pay for everything. It didn’t help that his frame was demanding more and more energon to keep up with both jobs and a growing sparkling.

Both jobs and the carrying was exhausting him and he wanted nothing more than to fall back into recharge, but he still got up and got ready for his day job. He prepared a cube with the mineral mixture the doctor gave him. Within a few kliks he was out the door. Traffic wasn’t bad this early in the morning, if you excused the few inconsiderate bots who believe that they own the whole road.

Within just a few kliks Prowl was entering his workplace. After quickly greeting Winddrift he headed into the back and was only mildly surprised when he saw Beckon waiting for him. With a smile he walked up to greet his longest friend. Shortly after his fight and break up with Delirium he had contacted her for the first time in over a century. She was the only one who he thought he could make amends with. After an joor of talking on the comms and a whole lot of ‘I told you so’’s from Beckon they were able to rekindle their friendship.

“Becky. What a ‘surprise’ to see you on my shift again.” Prowl greeted her.

“Yea, well, when you blow the boss you get to call the shots.” She grinned back smugly. “You should know that by now.”

“Ah, yes, pulling a Powerbite now, I see. She the one who taught you that?” Prowl asked, amused as he got ready to start his shift. First by punching in, next by grabbing a large metal tray.

“Glitch, please.” She snorted. “I figured that out myself. As a matter of fact, it was me who taught her. The cute little hussy.”

“Your idea of a complement and term of endearment will forever be amusing.” He shook his head before heading out to the main floor.

“All the more reason to make me the god-creator.” She said with a large grin while pointing at him.

“Tell me, Becky. Did you ever get the felony cleared up yet?” Prow looked back at her with a devilish smile.

“No.” She pouted. “Not yet.”

“Alright then, I guess you still know my answer.” He chuckled and got to work.

The day was much like any other one. Running around, waiting tables, cleaning the messes left behind. Prowl wasn’t good with small talk, as he never had a reason to do so, but found early on in his job that a little flirting often left a slightly bigger tip. Which is something he knew well. He just had to be careful who he flirted with.

Dead Lift, the unofficial bouncer, might be able to literally bounce most customers who decided to cause any unnecessary ruckus, but Prowl however was reluctant to cause him any unneeded work. Beckon, how ever, gave no damns who she flirted with. Old, young, coupled or not, she flirted with them all. Which has lead to a few unnecessary altercations.

Thankfully they managed to make it to their mid break without any such conflict.

“I think that dude is totally into me.” Becky said as they sat down in the break room.

“And what is your theory today.” Prowl asked before taking a sip out of his cube.

“Because this is the third day this week he’s shown up during my shift and the third time he sat in my area. Plus, he was totally checking out my aft.” She said with a pleased grin.

“Aren't you seeing that one mech right now?” Prowl questioned her and tilted his head.

“Yea, and what of it?” She responded as she messed with the radio. “You know how I bounce from mech to femme. I can never stay put.”

“Yea, but shouldn’t-”

“Ah ha! Here’s the station!” Beckon shouted triumphantly with a grin. Through the radio came the voice of a mech along with various instruments in a loud and upbeat tune.

“Ugh! This guy, again?” Prowl looked at his rich lilac and arctic blue friend with annoyance.

“Jazz is a great singer I’ll have you know!” She protested loudly.

“Yea, well, I don’t-” Prowl cut himself off as he felt little happy pulses from the tiny sparkling. He looked down at his chassis in disbelief. “Oh, don’t tell me you like this!?!”

“Ha ha! That’s two votes for Jazz.” Becky said smugly. “So you can suck it, Prowl!”

“Traitors. The both of you.” He mumbled grumpily into his cube before taking another drink.

The rest of the day went by smoothly after that. Before Prowl knew it the work shift was over. He finished with his last table and dumped his tray in the sink before collapsing on one of the chairs in the break-room. He let out a low groan as he rubbed his aching lower back, wishing he could just go home. With an angry sigh he dismissed the pop up that alerted him to his next shift at the bar.

“Hey Prow, you going home or to the bar?” Becky asked him as she gathered her stuff.

“I have a shift at Turborat Race Bar tonight.” He sighed tiredly as they left the restaurant together. Prowl sent a gentle pulse at his quiet sparkling to see what he was up to. They sent back a sleepy pulse as they went back to dozing.

“Want me to join ya? I got nothin’ to do for the rest of the night. I can keep all the creeps off you.” She offered, though she already knew the answer.

“If you want. You know I love your company. Though it usually ends with me dragging your drunk aft home.” Prowl teased her good naturedly. He never minded having to take her home, especially after all the times she did so for him. That's what friends do after all.

“Well not tonight. I have a stupid appointment with the judge tomorrow morning. So I have to stay mostly sober tonight.” She groaned loudly, not at all happy she had to limit her drinking.

“What did you do this time?” 

“I got into another fight. It’s no big deal.”

“Okay, and what's the rest of the story?” Prowl prodded, not impressed with an obvious half attempt to brush it off.

“It was a paid fight, all under the table. But the mech I was getting paid to fight was an undercover law enforcer, whose leg I broke.” She admitted, face in a grimace.

“Becky!”

“What!? How was I supposed to know that he was an enforcer!” She said defensively as she threw her servos up over her helm.

“I can’t believe you.” Prowl shook his helm with a sigh.

“Hey, don’t judge. There was a time not so long ago that you would have been arrested with me for doing the same thing.” She reminded him.

“Only I wouldn’t have been arrested.” He argued. “I haven’t yet.”

“Right, I forgot. You have that weird ability to predict the future.” She snorted, an amused smile on her face as she wiggled her digits at him.

“I don’t predict the future, I use social anthropology. I would have been able to tell that mech was undercover and would have gotten us out of there before anything went down.” Prowl explained to her for the thousandth time.

“Yea, yea. Whatever.” Beckon waved her servo dismissively. They had reached their destination, a somewhat rundown old bar that teaters on the edge of the bad part of town. It catered mostly to drunks, low level workers, and drug dealers. “Alright, I’mma gonna go to my usual spot. See ya in a few.”

“See you in a few.” Prowl nodded as he skirted around the side of the building. He picked his way around the few already drunk mechs that hung out around the side, ignoring their crude looks and flirts as he walked to the employee entrance.

“Prowl, you’re early?” Slugger looked at Prowl confused as he walked in. Slugger in a big mech with a solid brown paint scheme. He was one of the night managers, and Prowls favorite one.

“I came right here after my shift ended. There was no point in going home just to leave again.” Prowl explained.

“Well, do you wanna clock in early and get a few extra credits?” He offered the black and white mech. “I know you could use them.”

“Are you sure? Won’t you get in trouble with the boss?” Prowl asked, concerned for his coworker.

“Nah, he doesn’t care so long as you’re actually working.” He reassured the smaller bot.

“Alright, I’ll get to work then.” Prowl said while clocking.

He grabbed one of the trays, stopped by the bar to get Becky her choice of drink, and got to work. Prowl was one of three mechs waiting the tables that night. They were understaffed that night, so Prowl had to do more work than he was supposed too to keep up with all the drink orders. Still he did his best and worked hard all night. It’s just too bad this was nearly a nightly occurrence.

The only thing that really made this job worth coming to was that his little sparkling loved listening to all the different songs through his frame. Prowl didn’t care for the music much himself though. It was too much bass for him. As the next song started out with a heavy dose of bass he once again was thankful he had the sensitivity in his frame turned off. While the lack of sensory input from his doorwings left him partly deaf and blind compared to other Praxian frames it let him work and live without being in pain from too much sensory input.

Having his senses dampened is part of the reason why he likes having Becky follow him to his second job. While most attentive Praxians can tell when someone was right behind them, he could not. So having a second pair optics watching his back for him helped put him at ease. And she did her job well. She would always cut off creeps before they could get to Prowl and try anything.

Prowl was more than capable of protecting himself from mech of all kinds, he just didn’t want to get into a fight while he was carrying. So Becky played the part of bodyguard until his shift ended. In return she got all her drinks half off. It was a win-win arrangement. 

As Prowls shift came to an end he signaled to Becky to get ready to leave. He dropped off his last drinks, collected his share of the tips, and headed out the side door. The mechs from earlier were still there and far drunker now. This time they did not take so kindly to being ignored. As Prowl was trying to pass by one of them shot their servo out and grabbed Prowl by the wrist.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He said with a sneer, voice slurred from all the highgrade. He had gotten right in Prowls face, only inches apart. Despite this Prowl didn’t even flinch. Inside his chassis his sparkling was sending scared and confused pulses to his carrier, which only made Prowl madder at the mech in front of him.

“That is none of your concern. Now let me go or things are going to get real bad for you.” Prowl hissed lowly as he shot the mech with one of his fiercest, spark piercing glares, his door wings rising up behind him in a sharp V. With the street light behind him it casted his front side a shadow, making the black and white mech far more terrifying to look at.

It stunned the drunk mech long enough for Becky to come around with the bouncer. At the sight of the back up the mech let go of Prowl and back off, sulking. His friends in the back laughed at his luck. Meanwhile Prowl wasted no time getting out of the ally. Once they were away the sparkling had calmed down again.

“Thanks for the help Big B.” Prowl thanks the bouncer. He gave a nod in acknowledgement and went back to his post. Prowl turned to Beckon as they started the walk home. “Good job grabbing him so fast.”

“Yea, no problem.” She waved him off. “I knew those creeps in the alley were going to be trouble. I ran to get Big B the second that one mech touched you.”

Prowl hummed in response. “You seem mostly sober tonight. Did you actually stick to your limit?”

“Yea, surprisingly.” She chuckled. “I would have bet that the nanoklik the highgrade touched my mouth I would have thrown the limit right out the window.”

“Hey, I’m proud of you. You did the responsible adult thing.” Prowl said with a smile. The sparkling sent happy and pleased pulses to his carrier, trying to chip into the conversation. “And it seems as though my sparkling agrees.”

“Thanks little guy.” Becky said bending over so she was level with Prowls chassis. She was only a little bit smaller than him, so it was too far over she had to bend.

The sparkling sent another happy pulse before they calmed down, seemingly ready for some rest. “They say thank you and it’s time for them to get some recharge.”

“You best get home and get some too. It’s going to be a long day for you tomorrow.” Becky reminded him as she split off from the path to go to her own apartment.

“We’ll miss you at work tomorrow!” Prowl called after her and she responded with a wave. 

It was only another five kliks before Prowl made it back to his building. He walked in and took the rickety elevator up to his apartment. With a tired sigh he prepared himself a cube before sitting down at the table to rest for a moment and finish filling out some paperwork before going to berth.

Almost every day had gone by much like this one since Delirium's departure. The only time something was different was if he had one of his shifts off or had to visit the medic. It was exhausting, but he tried to keep his hopes up. After all, all of this was for his little sparkling. All of this was to try to give them a better life then the one he is currently providing or the one he grew up in. As he sat he finished up the last thing he needed to sign up for the Law Enforcer academic Training Academy. His plan was to do the studying part during his carrying term and the physical part after he delivers his sparkling.

It was a long shot as more offten then not they don’t accept a carrying mech or femme as the Academy was considered to be extremely stressful. Prowl was hoping to impress them with his intellect enough so that they would let him in anyway. He had called his old teachers who had agreed to be a reference for him. Now all he needed was just a little bit of luck.

Tired after a long day, Prowl decided it was best to call it a night. He sent in his application and made his way to his berth. He doubled checked that his alarms were set and settled down for the night. With in nanokliks he was out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the chapter before this I forgot to put in credit for the reference. It is 'Strongest' by Alec Benjamin. My bad.


	3. The Interview

Prowl double checked that he had all the forms he needed were tucked away in his subspace. Once he was satisfied that he had everything he left his apartment. He was on his way to his interview for the Law Enforcer Training Academy. It was something he needed to call off both shifts for, so he had the whole day to himself after the interview. This helped reduce the anxiety he already felt. He was going to need his A game to pass the interview.

He considered himself lucky to have even gotten the interview in the first place. Part of the signing up process was to submit a copy of his medical records, so they already knew he was carrying. It was probably only due to his old teachers giving good references that he was even given an opportunity to have an interview. That and his schooling transcripts that proved he was at the top of his class.

He stepped outside his building and headed in the direction of the Academy. It was a fair distance from his apartment, but unfortunately he had to walk instead of drive. His carrying term had reached the point where he was noticeably carrying. This prevented him from transforming. If he did he would risk damaging or even destroying his sparklings protoform. So for now he would have to walk or take public transport.

This meant he had to leave very early so he would get there on time. He didn’t mind too much as walking gave him a chance to think. The only part that bothered him was the extra weight he had to carry that made his peds ach. Still, he dealt with it for now. Later in the day he will be able to take a shuttle back to his neighborhood. 

His little sparkling loved taking walks though. Their EM field, though still new and small, would brush by others and would make him excited. To them it was like seeing something brand new and they loved it. It made Prowl smile to himself as his sparkling sent excited pulses and waves to him. He made a mental note to go on more walks for them.

During his walk he passed by many shops. Some were selling items for sparklings, reminding him of all the things he still needed to get for his. He sighed and turned away, knowing he wasn’t able to afford them yet. Still, he promised himself that soon he will be able to give his sparkling all the things that they need and want.

He just needed to ace the interview.

After walking for a Joor and a half he finally arrived at Praxis's Law Enforcer Academy. His peds, legs, and lower back were aching from the long walk, but still he looked at the Academy in aw. It was large with three main buildings, a courtyard, and the training grounds where several bots were out doing the obstacle courses. The one furthest back was for training officers. It was the second largest, only a little bigger then the office building. It didn’t need to be big as not many bots made it up the ranks enough to get to officer status. 

The largest building took up the entire right side of the property. It had a dome top in the center with two wings on either side. This one trained all Law Enforcers, Fire Responders, and First Responders. The building closest to the road was the Office Building, which was the smallest. Though it was smaller than the other two it was still rather large. Every bot who ran the Academy worked in that building. Including the interviewer.

Prowl admired the buildings for a moment more before heading into the Office Building. He walked up to the mech at the front desk to ask him where the interviews were taking place. He didn’t even look up from his computer, apparently too busy with whatever was on it. He pointed around the corner and down the hall. Prowl followed his direction and came to a room where several other mechs and femmes sat waiting.

He checked in with the femme at the desk, giving her his designation and appointment time. She nodded as she told him to have a seat. He sat down at a spot a little bit away from the others and tried to ignore their staring. A few he recognized from school, though they were a couple of stellar cycles behind him. He prayed that they didn’t recognize him though.

After what felt like joors Prowl was finally called in. He stood up and walked into the large room. It was impressive to look at. It has several shelves filled with data pads, gun parts, and other trinkets. Several pictures hung on the walls of mech Prowl recognized. The biggest one had a group of mechs and femmes all saluting at the camera. In the corner a large globe of Cybertron stood.

In the center of the room was a large and rather nice metal desk with matching chairs in front of it. Sitting on the other side was Lockout, the Headmaster of the Academy and the mech in charge of the interview process. He was a rather intimidating old mech with a large boxy build and a stern expression. He was no doubt some bot that was hard to impress.

“Prowl, glad you could make it. As I’m sure you are aware I am Headmaster Lockout.” He said calmly, voice seaming to fill the large room. “Please, take a seat.”

“Thank you sir, it is good to be here.” Prowl answered politely as he sat down on the seat to the right. His sparkling sent curious pulses at him before quitting down.

“I’m sure it is.” He nodded. “Now, let's get down to business. I must say you have a rather impressive school transcript. Graduated at the top of your class, with extra courses, and still finished at the same time as the rest of your peers. It says here you were unmatched when it came to the game chess, though you weren’t part of the club.”

“I played against the teachers and instructors, sir. Never the other students. They weren’t challenging enough.” Prowl explained to him.

“Yes, your teachers said the same thing.” He nodded. “Speaking of which, all of them spoke highly of you. You seemed to stay out of trouble, but had a reputation of hanging out with the wrong crowd.” He raised an optic ridge. “Not uncommon with younglings and teens from your social class level, but it still raised some red flags. Luckily for you we found that you had a spotless record.

“Furthermore, when you came in to take the test not only did you score above everyone else who took it, but you scored in the top five percent. Very few actually manage to do so and those who do usually go on to be Officers. Naturally I was very impressed.   
Especially since it had been several Stellar Cycles since anyone else had done that.” He praised, making Prowl feel a little more confident in this interview.

“Now, normally we would allow a mech or femme with this impressive a application to enter, but there is a very important matter at hand that needs to be discussed. Your carrying term.” He said as he folded his servos on the desk in front of him. “The Academy is not like the schooling you are used to. We demand more from our students than the bare minimum. The academic part is very demanding and requires an extreme amount of time studying the laws and all the ways we enforce them.

“It is naturally a high stress environment. One that is not good for a carrying mech or femme. These reasons alone are why we usually don’t schedule an interview for them.” He explained, looking Prowl in the optic. Prowl looked back, not flinching under his intense gaze. From his chassis he could feel his sparkling sending up questions pulses. He sent back soothing pulses of his own. “However, I made an exception to give you a chance to convince me to allow you to attend the classes. Now, make your case.” 

“Thank you for the opportunity, sir.” Prowl nodded his helm politely. “To start I would like to point out that all the extra courses   
I took were at the Academy level. So I am already familiar with their academic demands. Secondly they were all voluntary, so at any point I could have dropped them. Not only did I stick with them I was at the top of my class in each of them. I am confident that I can handle the stress of a demanding Academy level school work load.

“You don’t need to worry about my focus either. I was able to successfully take tests in classes of over 30 teens, none of which cared about the test. If I can focus in a room of loud teens who were doing their best to get my attention, I can focus in class with a sparkling growth in me.” I said doing my best to reassure him. Internally I was getting nervous, making my little sparkling send all sorts of pulses to me.

“You do realise, Prowl, that the Academy would be taking a big risk by letting you attend. If you were to go into early labor or Primus forbid a miscarry because of the academic workload the Academy would be in serious trouble.” He pointed out, stressing the last part. “Do you really think you can handle this?”

“I am confident in my ability to handle the stress and demands of the Academy.” Prow said with as much seriousness and confidence as he could muster.

“Alright.” The mech said, optics narrowing for a moment in contemplation. Then he gave a welcoming smile. “Then in that case, welcome to Praxis Law Enforcer Academy. We will send you a confirmation letter along with a list of all the things you will need.” He said standing up and reaching out to shake Prowls servo.

“Thank you sir. I won't let you down.” Prowl said, accepting the shake. Internally he sent happy pulses to his sparkling, who sent back some of their own.

“I look forward to seeing you in class.” He said with a reassuring smile. “You are dismissed.”

“Yes sir.” Prowl said standing up and leaving the room.

He walked out of the building in a happy daze, scarcely believing that he actually made it into the Academy. As he was walking to the shuttle pick up he decided to comm his friend. He quickly found her frequency and called. It took only a second for her pick up.

“Speak, glitch.” Becky said, picking up the call.

“I got in.” Prowl told her excitedly, one servo resting on his chassis. Inside his sparkling decided to take a little nap, worn out from the emotional roller coaster their carrier has been on all morning.

“What?!” She shouted into the comm.

“I got in.” He repeated.

“Dude! No way! I’m so happy for you!” She squealed into the comm. “We are so going to have to celebrate! But you’re carrying, so what the pit can we do?”

“You bring the energon goodies, I’ll pick out a holovid for us to watch. We can celebrate like we're 13 thousand again.” Prowl told her as he got on the shuttle.

“Uh, we were drinking by then, but I get you.” Becky reminded him. Her voice then turned back into a squeal. “Dude! I can’t believe this. I can’t wait to tell everybody. Can I tell bots?”

“Sure, go for it.” Prowl said, giving her permission. “I’ll see you after you get off of work. Come straight to my apartment after you get the goodies.”

“Yea, got it. See you then.” She said.

“See you then.” He repeated.

“Oh, Prowl!” She said quickly before he could hang up.

“Yes?” He asked curiously.

“I’m super proud of you.” She said, voice conveying how proud she really was. “See ya!” She hung up.

Prow chuckled to himself as he enjoyed the rest of the ride. Hope swelled in his spark as he felt for the first time like everything was really going to be alright. Hope was something he was getting short on supply lately, so this was good for him. For both him and his sparkling.

It didn’t take long before he got home. He rode up the sketchy elevator in such a light mood that he barely noticed how shaky it was this time. He entered his apartment and sat down on the couch for a moment, happy to relax for a moment. In a few klicks he’ll get up to pick out a holovid.

Tomorrow he’ll have to put in his notice for his day job. His schooling will take the place of that job. He’ll keep his night job though, so he’ll have a source of income. Though in a few cycles he’ll quit that too to become a full time Law Enforcer. Until then he’ll just have to do his best to stay afloat.

**Author's Note:**

> Guess which songs inspired this fic!


End file.
